Anime in review

Mawaru Penguin Drum Episode 17

En route to the hospital to cook for Himari, Kanba and Shouma compare notes and conclude Tokikago Yuri and Natsume Masako each hold one half of the diary. When Shouma suggests using the complete diary to change Himari’s fate, as Yuri wishes to do to resurrect Momoka, Kanba refuses, declaring they will rely on Sanetoshi’s medicine instead.

At the hospital, the brothers treat Himari to takoyaki they deep-fry in her hospital room. She remarks she has been feeling better lately and her recovery is going so well Sanetoshi may soon release her to go home. She shows them a hand-made sweater she is in the middle of making, her latest knitting project. Assuming she has knitted it for Sanetoshi, Kanba’s expression sours but Himari keeps the intended recipient a secret.

Just as Shouma remarks he is glad they no longer have to worry about trying to find the Penguin Drum, Himari slips into her Penguqueen persona, initiating another Survival Strategy. The Penguqueen warns them of dire punishment that will befall their family should they not heed her warning: it is still vital to retrieve the Penguin Drum for if they fail to acquire it, they will lose the thing most precious to them.

Over champagne, Yuri tells Tabuki about Shouma’s earlier request for her half of the diary, musing no one but the two of them know the true value of Momoka’s diary. Debating the Takakura siblings, Yuri remains adamant the three are just as responsible as their parents for Momoka’s death. However, Tabuki clears the children themselves of any wrongdoing, claiming they should not have to pay for the “sins of the father” and that such an attitude will not change the past. The one thing they agree on is that Momoka was the bright light of their childhood.

Sanetoshi observes that for people, truth and reality aren’t always the same thing and are even willing to kill for the sake of “truth.” He cryptically murmurs that the war will soon begin.

Later, Kanba and Shouma return to visit the hospital to find Himari has left to go shopping. Sanetoshi’s assistants tell the brothers Himari’s condition is still delicate. Her medicine must be taken on a strictly regulated schedule and she must return to the hospital to take her next dose by evening or else she places her life in jeopardy.

Along with Ringo, Himari has stopped in to a yarn supply store to pick out more knitting material. Soon, Yuri calls Ringo, inviting her on another outing and insists on meeting her for dinner. Ringo tells Yuri she is with Shouma’s sister, prompting Yuri to invite her to come to dinner as well. Meanwhile, the brothers have split up, systematically searching all the clothing fabric stores in each shopping district, barely missing Himari at Yozawaya and Penguin’s Coffee.

Masako encounters Yuri in the Yozawaya parking garage where they face off again, dueling with crossbows and gatling guns. GATLING GUNS. Technically, it’s loaded with Masako’s trademark mind-erasing ammo but still -it’s a freaking gatling gun. Meanwhile, Tabuki finds Ringo and Himari and leads them to a remote location, promising they will meet Yuri there. As they ride the freight elevator to the top, Tabuki asks Ringo if he remembers what he said about nothing being meaningless and even bad experiences having their place. He then announces he has decided today he will render punishment on the Takakuras.

If the egg's shell does not break, the chick will die without being born...

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Yuri’s and Masako’s confrontations are becoming more and more elaborately ludicrous by the episode, but it makes it that much more fun to watch. I love how they ante up the diary halves in a scene dripping with Utena and Yuri taunting Juri Masako about revolution. Cheers to the most Revolutionary Girl ever: Kawakami Tomoko, you are missed.

Every new episode hints at something deeper Sanetoshi has in store beneath the surface, but finally leaves us unsatisfied for clues. He’s been ready for a long-awaited conflict to begin. It’s clear he is manipulating all the players and stands to benefit in the end but what exactly his objective is remains elusive.

Personally, I’m getting tired of his pink hair and incessant smirking. Out with it already.